Search

If You Count Your Chickens Before They've Hatched, They Won't Lay An Egg

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the forum FAQ and the House Rules and Forum Guidelines.
You will have to register before you can post. If you find your registration is rejected, please try again using a different username. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Thanks, Pangaea. Hopefully this is the start of a dominant period for the club.

Originally Posted by HotChocolate

I sat looking at the Table for about 30 seconds and was wondering what I was doing. Saw you at the top and thought, jeez, hang on, back to real life, wait no, back into virtual life.

Great read, especially the final game of the season at home, against City who were top!

Hahaha We'll be back there in real life, one day (I hope!)

Originally Posted by DazRTaylor

Congratulations on a cracking season. Champions League the next target?

Tbh, I'm not overly bothered about the Champions League. Of course, if we win it, I'd be delighted, but it certainly isn't the be all and end all of my objectives next season.

When I first took the job at Anfield, the objective was to make the club capable of challenging for trophies again, and based on last season's success, I can happily say I've achieved this now. I've got two years left on my contract, which I won't be extending, and would like to add another Premier League trophy in this time; anything else we win along the way will just be a bonus

Excellent season bad luck in the Champions League final, them's the breaks.

Cheers. That's 20 league trophies now, five behind Man Utd. Still a bit of catching up to do though!

Originally Posted by Pangaea

Great finish to the league season with a proper league final. Lovely when things work out like that, particularly when you win it!

Unlucky in the CL as Real barely seemed to sniff the ball, never mind touch it. But well done getting that far to begin with. The start of some dominating years?

Hopefully so. I'm really happy with the squad now, and am unlikely to make any big signings over the summer. There's a couple of youngsters ready to make the step up to the first team, who will get some bench time, and maybe the last 15 minutes of a few games, which will aid their development. The foundations have now been built to make this club great for several years to come, although when I hand the reigns over, I just hope the next manager doesn't balls it up!

Originally Posted by jaycar

Awesome stuff AK!!!! If only it was like that irl....

Keep the faith, jaycar, it will happen again! Well, it better do, I was six the last time we won the league IRL, and would like to properly celebrate it next time! (By that, I mean get ridiculously drunk! )

Originally Posted by cerud

Great season and good pickup in the January transfer window of that striker!

Cheers cerud, Marquina really took me by surprise. When I first signed him, I envisaged him just starting a couple of games while Diallo was in Africa, but due to his scintillating start, I now have a difficult decision to make with every starting line-up I choose. At least it means I'm not totally dependant on one striker now.

Originally Posted by City2000

Fantastic season, thats the best to win the title I reckon, a last day decider and Marquina paid you back with those two goals alone.

Got unlucky in the CL final aswell but looks like good times are ahead for Liverpool again.

I could barely watch that final league game. I had a horrible feeling that it would turn out similarly to the ending of the 1988/89 season when Liverpool lost the title to Arsenal, courtesy of a injury time goal! Thankfully, Man City didn't have a 'Michael Thomas' in their side!

Originally Posted by ShyBaldBuddhist

Great title win, unlucky on the CL. Loving the mean defence you have. To only concede 14 in the league all season is brilliant

Usually, a mean defence has been a hallmark of my teams, as I tend to favour a 1-0 scoreline to a 5-4 thriller. However, I've struggled a bit more in this save to build a solid defensive unit with my teams, and at times, focused more on an attacking formation. Finally, it looks like I've got the balance right, but then again, I would expect us to be water-tight, considering we have arguably the best 'keeper and one of the best centre-backs in the world.

It's just that you need a fair amount of good fortune if you're going to win the Champions League, and if we don't get it over the next two seasons, I won't be disheartened by it. I'd much rather put another league trophy in the cabinet, and tighten that gap on Man Utd

It's just that you need a fair amount of good fortune if you're going to win the Champions League, and if we don't get it over the next two seasons, I won't be disheartened by it. I'd much rather put another league trophy in the cabinet, and tighten that gap on Man Utd

Interesting, I'm sort of feeling the opposite with Dortmund (lack of CL participation this season aside)

I could barely watch that final league game. I had a horrible feeling that it would turn out similarly to the ending of the 1988/89 season when Liverpool lost the title to Arsenal, courtesy of a injury time goal! Thankfully, Man City didn't have a 'Michael Thomas' in their side!

Been a while since I've been in here but good to see a league title win . Are you the new King of the Kop now then?

Definitely, of course Although, I'll never be able to dislodge the 'Real King of Anfield'; King Kenny that is.

Originally Posted by B.W.G

Congrats on the title win but unlucky in Europe.There is always next season to conquer Europe

Originally Posted by roganp

Well done on winning the title and reaching the Champions League final. The gap between Liverpool and United is starting to close

Originally Posted by Nobby_McDonald

Well done on winning the title.

Originally Posted by SRL88

Back to where we belong .

Get catching the Mancs up!!!

Originally Posted by jaycar

If it happens again I'll buy you that first drink: D

KUTGW sir, YNWA.

Cheers! I'm just hoping it wasn't a flash in the pan, and we have another strong year in the season ahead.

Originally Posted by Pangaea

I'm going to assume this doesn't mean "You're Not Worth Anything"?

Pah, I'm starting to think it stands for You'll Never Win Anything at the moment!

Originally Posted by City2000

Remember that well, "it's up for grabs now!"

That year was arguably the most exciting season finale in English football ever. From my personal perspective, it wasn't the best outcome possible, but from a football lover's view, it's these kind of moments that will live long in the memory. Mind you, the year Blackburn won the Premier League at Anfield was also a pretty special day.

Into the penultimate year of my contract with Liverpool now, and my aim is to win at least one Premier League title in this period. I've already decided that I won't be renewing my contract when it expires, so I will be looking to leave a legacy that ensures the club can continue to be dominant for several seasons after my departure.

All pretty achievable, although I'll be definitely looking to improve on the league expectations, as being defending champions, I expect us to be in the title race for much of the season. Man City are the favourites, but I would think that big spenders, Chelsea (£53m) and Man Utd (£40m), will give us a good fight too; should be compulsive viewing.

At an average age of 24.46, we've now got the youngest squad in the league. In fact, there's only two players over 30 at the club, Sébastien Corchia and Aaron Ramsey, who are the captain and vice-captain respectively. Despite the relatively inexperienced nature of the squad, I've decided against spending big this summer, instead relying on the players that brought us success last season, and have only signed players under the age of 20. Of the five new signings, only Saeid Kheiri will be likely to get any regular first team minutes, having being brought in to provide cover on the left wing. All the rest will have to make do with under-18 and reserve fixtures this season, which will be fine for now, allowing them time to adapt to the club and life on Merseyside without too much pressure. The most exciting prospect signed is Giacomo Verdiani, who potentially could form a future all-Italian centre-back partnership with his compatriot, Giuliano Borghetti, in the years to come. I've also signed a young Italian 'keeper, Gianandrea Melis, and Bulgaria striker, Venelin Nikolov, who both could turn out to be solid Premier League players.

Tactical Outlook

This is my initial formation and team instructions:

No change from last year, why bother changing a winning formula?! I do have a solid Plan B (4-2-3-1 with 2 DMs) though, which I switch to in games where we struggle to retain possession, or when looking to close out games where we could be exposed to a fast counter-attack.

So I guess the 4-1-2-2-1 (or 4-3-3 which ever you chose to call it) i working wel, although I'm still not a fan of zonal marking. But I suppose you're carrying on the Benitez philosophy . Some decent pre-season signings and Verdiani certainly does look like the business.

Well, that's the plan anyway. I'd also like to try and convince the board that we need a bigger stadium too, before I leave. They're not having it at all at the moment though.

Originally Posted by SRL88

Some nice signings there mate. Good luck with the new season .

Originally Posted by B.W.G

Some nice signings but Verdiani looks like he will be a big hit in the future.Good luck for the new season and hope you give Utd a good thumping

Originally Posted by Pangaea

Some fantastic prospects there. Verdiani looks ready to step right into the first team already

Totally agree with you about Verdiani. He does look a class act, and would already be a first team player for several teams, despite his young age. However, he will need to wait his turn at Anfield, as there's four other centre-backs ahead of him in the queue currently, and all of them expect first team football.

Originally Posted by Raware

So I guess the 4-1-2-2-1 (or 4-3-3 which ever you chose to call it) i working wel, although I'm still not a fan of zonal marking. But I suppose you're carrying on the Benitez philosophy . Some decent pre-season signings and Verdiani certainly does look like the business.

I don't always use zonal marking, but now that I've got one of the best teams in the league, I figured that they should all have the intelligence to pull it off successfully. Well, better than Rafa did anyway! I certainly wouldn't even entertain the idea of using it in the lower leagues though, as it has a habit of going horribly wrong if you're not matching man-to-man, at this level.

Into the penultimate year of my contract with Liverpool now, and my aim is to win at least one Premier League title in this period. I've already decided that I won't be renewing my contract when it expires, so I will be looking to leave a legacy that ensures the club can continue to be dominant for several seasons after my departure.

So far, most definitely, so good. I'm absolutely delighted at how we've started the season, leading the way in the Premier League, and with the luxury of a five point cushion over the chasing pack. We've also already played, potentially, the two biggest away fixtures of our season, against Man City and Arsenal, so being in such a promising position already, gives me great encouragement that another successful season is on the cards for Liverpool if we can match our points tally in the post-Xmas fixtures. That being said, I'm still somewhat irked that we managed to lose to Blackburn, dropping three points in a game that we should have comfortably won, against a team right in the thick of a relegation battle.

In what was a difficult Champions League Group Stage draw, I'm thrilled that we've qualified for the next stage as group winners. Not that we've been handed a straightforward tie in the 1st Knockout Round though, as we will have to play the Italian Champions, AC Milan, who have won Serie A five seasons in a row, after they finished second to Barcelona. We will certainly need to improve our European away form if we are going to make any further progress in the competition, as in our trips away to Madrid and Florence, we started slowly and found ourselves 2-0 down before plucky second half performances salvaged us a point in both games; I doubt that Milan will be generous enough to allow us back into the tie if we gift them a two goal advantage.

Just don't think you're going to get anything from a visit to 'Fortress Anfield' this season though, as out of the twelve League and Champions League games we've played at home, we've won all twelve and haven't conceded a goal yet. I may have just jinxed us now though

Just don't think you're going to get anything from a visit to 'Fortress Anfield' this season though, as out of the twelve League and Champions League games we've played at home, we've won all twelve and haven't conceded a goal yet. I may have just jinxed us now though

That's your home record in ruins then, like you said

Great stuff btw. Where do you fancy going when your contract expires? Your career so far has been England only. What country do you fancy?

Well, that was proper close! We nearly threw qualification away after sloppy draws against Finland and Bosnia and Herzegovina, so had to rely on Scotland dropping points in their final game of the campaign. Thankfully, they could only muster a draw, which allowed us in the back door to secure qualification as group winners. We've got Netherlands, Sweden and Norway in our group at the finals, which will be tough, but I think we should have enough to secure our passage into the knockout rounds.

In tactics news, the three at the back formation has worked relatively well so far. Having conceded only three goals in the qualifiers, it certainly proves it's relatively sound defensively, but I've struggled to find the sweet-spot going forward, which has meant that we haven't scored as often as I would have like. I've found that the midfield got overcrowded at times, restricting the space that my creative players get to fashion out any chances. To try and counter this, and make us a bit more free-scoring, I've experimented with a 4-5-1 in the last two friendlies we've played, and having scored nine goals in those games, I'm inclined to change to this new set-up on a more permanent basis.

Great stuff btw. Where do you fancy going when your contract expires? Your career so far has been England only. What country do you fancy?

Yep, that's us screwed now, probably

I've got no definite plans yet, but it certainly won't be another English side or a European powerhouse like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter/AC Milan etc. As you've said, I haven't move out of England yet, so it would be good to take this career overseas and into Europe, if not another continent even. However, I don't want another big club where success comes quite easily, as I tend to get bored after a couple of seasons when it becomes routine that you're going to win. There's very little challenge in that, in my opinion.

There's a couple of things in the back of my mind that I'm already thinking about. These include going to the MLS or the A-League, and trying to get to grips with a completely different footballing mindset and domestic calendar. Another thing taking my interest is the thought of taking over a Ukrainian club and trying to stop Shakhtar. They have won the Premyer Liga for the past 14 seasons, and are surely in need of being brought down a peg or two.

I also got a handful of 'favoured clubs' dotted around the world, who I would like a bash at managing if given the option. The shortlist of these include Nantes, Bologna, Hertha Berlin, IFK Göteborg, Boca Juniors and Honved, just to name a few.

That being said, I haven't made my mind up yet, so it's just as likely that I won't do any of the above; I've still got 18 months at Liverpool first to concentrate on, anyway.

Originally Posted by Pangaea

Fantastic start to the season. Hopefully you can keep it up and claim the title.

Thanks Pangaea, I certainly hope so. I can't see any reason why we can't, as we've arguably got the best squad in the league now, but still, bad luck with injuries and suspensions always has the potential to derail any title challenge.

Originally Posted by HotChocolate

Poor Moldova, they weren't invited to the party.

Well, let's look at the positives; they did score two goals (both against Finland)

As someone who dislikes both sides, I hope for a very entertaining 4-4 draw, a mass brawl involving all 22 players, both benches, Sir Alex and Kenny Dalglish, resulting in four red cards apiece.

I can but wish.

I dunno about 4-4, but I reckon it'll be quite an eventful game, and I've got that feeling that something will happen which will trigger all hell breaking loose. I know both managers are appealing for calm from the crowd, but there's a lot of bad blood over the Evra/Suarez debacle, and I'm sure it won't take much to light the blue touch paper. I'd take a boring 1-0 though, as it would be great to knock both Manchester clubs out of the cups in the same week!

Originally Posted by rancer890

Nah, one FA Cup match ongoing right now is much more important than whatever match that is.

Yeah, I think I read somewhere that some team in blue were playing tonight. Come on Fulham!

I'm delighted that we managed to defend our Premier League trophy, but am slightly disappointed that we couldn't make it a double by adding either the FA Cup or Champions League to our league success. April was a pretty horrific month for us full stop, as we started to get the jibs, and nearly threw our hard work away in the league as well as the cup competitions. Ultimately, I feel that competing on three fronts cost us severely, as we started to run out of steam, and several members of the squad became jaded and in need of prolonged rests. We played two games a week for most of March, and the entirety of April, which put a lot of strain on the team, and with so many big games, I found it difficult to keep the squad in good condition. Throughout this period, lethargic performances became our trademark, with the worst being the penalty defeat to a nine-man Arsenal team in the semi-final of the FA Cup, followed closely by the poor shows against Leicester and Atletico Madrid. Bum squeaking of the highest nature, and something for us to rectify next season; a stronger nerve and we could well have been celebrating a famous treble.

On a more positive note, we did still manage to cling on to win the Premier League for the 21st time in the club's history. That's now four behind Man Utd, so the gap is continuing to close. However, our rivals down the M62 had a much stronger year this time around, and very nearly pipped us to the post. Old Trafford has not seen major silverware for four years now, but they still have a squad capable of keeping us on our toes in the forthcoming seasons; we can ill afford to get complacent and take our success for granted.

We're rich, very rich. But then I did only spend £9m on new signings this season. The club is now well set up for the future, and will be debt free by 2030, when the outstanding loan payments have been made. Hopefully that'll be when the board might even contemplate rubber-stamping the 'New Anfield' blueprints.

The squad was severely put to the test this season, and I must say, it did start to crack and creak when the fixtures started to pile up. We also had bad luck with injuries throughout, losing several key players for two/three months periods. Sprained ankles, torn calf muscles, and fractured ribs were just some of the ailments that kept the physio team busy, as well as making team selection a nightmare at times. Arguable, our three best players Sébastien Corchia, Pedro Correia and Pablo Marquina, were all struck by the injury curse at various stages of the season, and all missed roughly a third of our fixtures whilst on the treatment table. Thankfully, we could always depend on our reliable centre-back partnership of Juame Ferrer and Nicolás Hermosilla, who despite their relative young age, have formed a tight defensive unit. That being said, I'm not convinced that Hermosilla is in the 'world class' bracket, and is unlikely to be the rock of the heart of our defence for several seasons to come, so I may be inclined to promote one of the promising young defenders from my league-winning Under-18s side.

I will be looking to strengthen the squad over the course of the summer, mainly targeting a central midfielder and another right back. Aaron Ramsey and Sébastien Corchia have both turned 33, and even though they are still consistent first team regulars, it would be churlish of me to think that they will go on forever; more likely, they'll become more rotational players next season, alternating with the impending new signings.

Other News

Kingstonian - A record high finish of 13th in League Two.

Hull - 9th in The Championship, just short of reaching the playoffs.

Fulham - After a slow start, Gareth Southgate was sacked mid-season. Final position of 10th in the Premier League was still pretty respectable.

Well done winning the league. Although you were on top for virtually the whole season, it looks like you were pushed hard by United, Arsenal and City so well on keeping your nose in front the whole time. Looks like a very capable squad too, so if you find good replacements for some of the ageing players the future will be bright. And with that kind of money you can probably buy whatever you find.

Cheers! The cups were a bit of a frustration for me. Not just because we fell short, but also because of the fixture pile-up our cup runs caused. As much as it pains me to say it, but next season, I may consider sacrificing the FA Cup if it means I can have another stab at a Champions League final.

Originally Posted by HotChocolate

I think Liverpool fans will be happy just sat above Man Utd and back on top spot.

Good all around. Typical they're not willing to finance a new stadium with that money in the coffers. Take your time, Mr. Henry.

One more year!!!

I think his interest in the club is starting to wane now, as his chairman status has dropped to 'happy to stay'. A new man at the top could be what we need to get a new stadium back on the radar, as currently, 'there is no evidence of the fanbase expanding in the near future'. We've just won back-to-back Premier League titles, you moron!!

Well done winning the league. Although you were on top for virtually the whole season, it looks like you were pushed hard by United, Arsenal and City so well on keeping your nose in front the whole time. Looks like a very capable squad too, so if you find good replacements for some of the ageing players the future will be bright. And with that kind of money you can probably buy whatever you find.

Originally Posted by DodgeeD

Nice work defending the title. A little unlucky in the cups but I'm sure Liverpool fans would happily forgo cup success for a return to the league glory days.

Originally Posted by B.W.G

Congrats on defending the league title,a bit unlucky in the cups though.

Originally Posted by City2000

Great title defence!

Thanks chaps

It's great to see the club back at the pinnacle of English football, and I'm hoping that everything is in place for it to continue for several more seasons. The current squad is certainly good enough to win another couple of titles, and the youth in the ranks all have bags of potential, which could lead to the club being dominant for a decade or so. Financially, all is looking rosy too, so even if a few holes start to appear in the squad, there are the resources available to go out and buy some quality replacements. The only thing we need is a bigger stadium, but I really can't see that happening any time soon.

That all being said, we're still nowhere near becoming the richest club in England, with Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea being the highest valued. It's no surprise Man Utd are still top when you consider that Old Trafford now holds 99737, almost double the capacity of Anfield, which they sell-out for the majority of their home games. Kerching!

Abject. Abysmal. Appalling. Just three of the words that spring to mind when describing our performance at the Euros. We even managed to finish below a side that couldn't even score a goal! And to be honest, I can't really put my finger on why we were so poor either. We may have been missing a couple of first eleven regulars, but the squad was still good enough on paper to make it out of the group stages, and even though it was unlikely we were going to beat Netherlands, we really should have dispatched the two Scandinavian nations without too much fuss. So, after those terrible performances, and just after a week after landing in Spain, it was time for me and all the Turkish fans to get the flight home.

Elsewhere, there were a few other shocks in the groups with Belgium and Slovenia finishing above Spain in Group A, and defending champions, Germany, limping through in 3rd place from their group. That being said, we're still the biggest name missing from the knockout rounds.

Knockout Rounds

Italy and Germany's second round exits will come as a shock to most, but pretty much all the other big names made it into the last eight alongside surprise-package Slovenia.

A really tense final that went all the way to penalties. The Czechs could consider themselves unlucky, but ultimately, the Dutch kept their nerve to lift the trophy for the first time since the 'Gullit' era, 36 years earlier.

After a terrible Euro 2024, I really had to reconsider my position as the national team boss; the performances were severely under par, and due to this, our World Ranking dropped dramatically.

Thankfully, due to our decent qualifying record, the FA decided to grant me a stay of execution, and allowed me to remain in the job for the time being. We've got a very tricky World Cup qualifying draw with Spain likely to be a huge threat to our safe passage to Mexico 2026. However, when the draw was completed, we were seeded first, due to Spain shockingly low world ranking (51st!), so will be the favourites to qualify as group winners. If we are going to do this, we will need to improve hugely on our European Championship performance though, so major changes in both squad selection, and team mentality, are likely to happen in the forthcoming matches.

Very tough group draw too. Slovakia to the knockout stage in the World Cup so no slouch, and Switzerland are pretty decent too, plus Spain of course. Very unlucky draw, but hope you can get through it. Hopefully you have some fine youths that can make an impact too. Need to improve on the World Cup performance. Good luck.

Very tough group draw too. Slovakia to the knockout stage in the World Cup so no slouch, and Switzerland are pretty decent too, plus Spain of course. Very unlucky draw, but hope you can get through it. Hopefully you have some fine youths that can make an impact too. Need to improve on the World Cup performance. Good luck.

We do certainly need to improve, and quickly. I'm pretty embarrassed by our Euros performance, and hopefully, so should the players be; one point from three games is not what I was expecting!

Originally Posted by HotChocolate

Ooooo, the less said about the World Cup the better.

Originally Posted by Nobby_McDonald

He hasn't played in the World Cup just.

Glad someone's paying attention! I read through all my previous posts just to make sure I hadn't gone mad!

Originally Posted by abulezz

LOL at Spain seeded 51st! I think after those Euro 2024, you should have done the Turkish people a favor and retired - if it was real life, they would be calling for your head!

Joking aside, its a very manageable World Cup Qualifiers draw, I think - you should ATLEAST be aiming for second, unless Switzerland has turned into a world power!

Spain have really fallen off their perch in my save! Something's gone horribly awry with their youth development recently, and are no longer the force that they were. That all being said, they're certainly not as bad as their rankings suggests, and I'd still make them the favourites for qualification from our group.

I did consider resigning, as well as contemplating offers from Russia, Czech Republic and England too, but decided I would battle it out for another two years with Turkey. The team has bags of potential, I just need to hope I can unleash it on the rest of Europe, sooner rather than later!

Originally Posted by deltablue

Not the easiest draw for the qualifiers either.

Originally Posted by SRL88

Not the best of European Championships for yourself and a pretty tough World Cup draw...but you can definitely get through it.

Originally Posted by City2000

Disappointing Euros for sure, second place in the WC qualifiers looks a good shout though.

Originally Posted by B.W.G

Tough break in the Euro's but you should be able to get a top two finish in the World Cup qualifiers if things go your way.

I think it's going to very close between ourselves, Spain, Switzerland and Slovakia. I'm fairly confident that we could win all our home matches, so it will all be down to who has the best away record that will decide who qualifies. I'm targeting a total of 23 points, which has historically been enough to secure qualification; hopefully we don't drop any silly points against the Faroes or Northern Ireland along the way.

Unless I have a dramatic change of heart, this will be my last season in charge of my beloved Liverpool. Obviously, I want to win as many trophies as possible, but my main objective is just to have fun and enjoy my final year at the club.

Board Expectations

Barclays Premier League: Challenge for the Premier League titleUEFA Champions League: Quarter Final | FA Cup: Semi Final | Carling Cup: Not Important

We're going to face stiff competition from Arsenal and Man Utd in the league, but I'd give us a good chance of winning at least one trophy. I won't be prioritising one competition over another, but obviously, winning the Premier League and/or the Champions League would be a great way to bow out from Anfield.

Once again the main mantra for this summer's transfer window was to buy talented youngsters who could be integrated into club set-up over the coming seasons.

Four teenagers joined the club, including two bright right full-backs, Evaldo and Daniel Kingolo. Being honest, I completely forgot about Evaldo's arrival, having agreed the transfer two seasons prior, and may have thought twice about spending £6m on Kingolo if I had remembered. Never mind, they are both hot prospect, who I'll train at left-back too, so both should get their chance in the first team this season. The other two youngster joining us, Morten Christensen and Lucio Zanotti, are unlikely to get anywhere near the first team squad yet, but give them a couple of years, and they should be knocking on the door for some Carling Cup action.

I didn't really need another goalkeeper, but I couldn't resist the temptation to sign Moustapha Bassolé when he was offered to me on a free transfer. He'll have to play second fiddle to existing 'keeper, Mohammed Ismail, but he's not a bad back-up to have on the bench.

Tactical Outlook

This is my initial formation and team instructions:

Exactly the same as last year. This formation has really become the hallmark of my career so far, having also switched to this with my Turkey side too.

As others as have said AK, tough Euro's and without sounding too negative, given your performances in the Euro's, qualification from the World Cup qualifying group isn't a foregone conclusion.

Still, on the plus side...it's looking good domestically with Liverpool .

Cheers Raware. I'm certainly not taking anything for granted this time around. I've changed to the same 4-5-1 formation I'm using at club level to try and replicate the performances I'm getting with Liverpool. Hopefully it works, otherwise I may end up taking a rest from international management

Diagola looks like an absolute beast. The kids look very talented too. Should be great for the future.

Thanks Pangaea, it's a shame he's broken his leg then! Hopefully that doesn't completely wreck his career, as he's only 23, and should recover, but some players never return to the levels they played at before such injuries.

He's certainly a commanding central midfielder, with his high determination, passing and strength the main reason for purchasing him. £8m wasn't a bad price either!

In the league, we started excellently, and asides from the defeat to West Ham, we took maximum points from all of our first 16 fixtures. However, more recently, we've been humbled somewhat, having dropped points three games in a row, allowing Arsenal to overtake us at the top of the league. We deserved more than a point apiece in the games against Newcastle and Man Utd, and if it hadn't been for missed penalties in both matches, we would have done so. Still, we are only one point behind the leaders, and still very much in the frame for the Premier League title. It does look like that the champions will need well over 90 points to lift the trophy this season, so considering we totalled 91 points in our previous two championship-winning seasons, it's going to be a mighty close finish.

Oh, and the fixture computer's been at it again. Final game of the season? Liverpool vs Arsenal at Anfield, obviously!

Arguable, our greatest performance of the season so far has been the 4-0 victory over Barcelona in the opening match of our Champions League campaign. A superb performance against one of the biggest clubs in Europe, which really gave us the impetus in the Group Stages, and helped to ensure we qualified for the next round as group winners. Up next on the agenda, a winnable tie against PSV, as well as a Carling Cup semi-final against Spurs. Maybe we'll make it to Wembley this season!